Battle Cries and Aching Hearts
by RiiiiiChan
Summary: It's been 2 years since the war between Plegia and Ylisse, now Ylisse faces another war, with Vam. Donnel reenlists in Chrom's army, to protect his country, and to see a certain princess... Lissa. [Contains: Lemon in later chapters, cursing, gore/violence, etc]


**Author's Note: **Hello! Guess what?! My friend had lent me their 3DS during school and I played Fire Emblem: Awakening. I couldn't resist the couple, so here is a Donnel/Lissa fanfic with lemon to come! Hope you like it and please review! :)

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Donnel plowed the ground of his family's farm. The Ylissean countryside heat was unbearable, but he kept on... someone had to keep the soil fertile! The thought of fertility reminded him of marriage and children with it. He was well beyond the age of being able to marry, which was 16. The country boy was now 18 and was looking into finding himself a wife, and hopefully in the process, the birth of children to his legacy. His mother had expected it and so would he.

Donnel's mother was a woman of middle age, 34, who looks more like she was in her 60s. The years of back breaking labor by tending to the farm, the loss of her husband to rogues, and the years her son had spent at war caused her to age so drastically. But her worries were little, her only concerns now came for the arrival of a daughter-in-law and grandchildren. She had been talking to families with mature daughters over the course of a few months, within their close-knit town. She hoped to find a girl that was fitting for Donnel. Her Donny deserved nothing but a lady fit for the task of bearing hard physical labor and enough grandchildren to continue working on the farm for generations to come.

Donnel didn't want anything else but to please his mother, after the way he suddenly left to join Chrom and his shepherds to defend Ylisse from war, leaving her to deal with the affairs of the farm. It was the least he could do. All he hoped for now was that his mother would choose a pretty girl for him, and of course, she probably would. The girls in this town weren't unattractive, they were all quite pleasant, but it only meant that his mother would have to work fast in choosing the right lady for him, before all the good ones were gone! Donny hoped his life would move on from marriage after his mother chose the right girl. The expected was hoped: have kids, work on the farm, grow old, and die. A simple life for the now-retired mercenary of Chrom's army. But things wouldn't go as smoothly as he thought, well not from today.

_**x - x - x - x** _

The sound of many hooves scraping away at the country ground attracted attention from the towns folk. They watched as the herd of soldiers on horses rush past them, all of which was carrying the crest of House Ylisse. The herd of horses ran down the road, in the direction of the outskirts of the town, which was all farm land belonging to many families. It was at this time that Donnel was pouring pig slop into the long, narrow pig feeder. The arrival of slop in their feeders caused for the pigs to push and shove, trying to get their take of slop. Donnel leaned upon the wooden fence, smiling at the work that he had just finished, the heat blazed down upon his head. He sure missed wearing his tin pot helmet... he also missed fighting in the Ylisse army. It was such a thrill to actually do something else besides farm work, _like kill_. The one thing he loved about being in the Ylisse army was killing, especially rogue bandits that terrorized villages along the way of the shepherds and the army. Also, there was something else he missed about fighting along House Ylisse's side, and of course it was the comrades he acquainted and became good friends with, but one person in particular... **_Lissa_**.

He didn't know why, but he deeply missed her most of all. They would always have the funniest conversations and seem to connect on most things. Often they were paired up by the Ylissean army's tactician, Robin. Who was the most valued friend of House Ylisse, and especially it's ruler, Chrom. A lot has happened since the war which pitted Ylisse against Plegia. The most important one being the death of Ylisse's exalt, Emmeryn, which resulted in the coronation of Prince Chrom. During the time of Emmeryn's death, which impacted both Plegia and Ylisse immensely, Donnel would occasionally find Lissa leaving training sessions early to cry. Donnel could remember it so cleary, actually.

The crunching of leaves under his foot, as he crept into the forest clearing to see if his trap had worked and he had caught a wild boar. Instead, he saw no one other than the blonde princess, mourning over the loss of her sister.  
"...Lissa?" The tin-pot soldier approached her, the branches of the forest trees created a roof above the clearing which allowed a spotlight of sunlight to shine through.  
Lissa gasped under her breath by the surprising country voice. The blonde princess quickly wiped her face of tears, and put on a fake smile.  
"Hey there, Donnel!" She turned around, flashing her white teeth in that fake smile of hers, which Donnel could obviously see through. "What are you doing here?" She struggled to maintain a normal voice, but couldn't. Donnel felt bad, he knew she was crying and was putting up a front in front of him.  
"Lissa, it's okay... you don't have to act happy. You're obviously crying." His words hit her hard, and she could do nothing but bite down on her lower lip and look down at the earthy floor covered in crisp leaves as the tears in her eyes began to form once more. Then, she gave in. The blonde princess let out a sob under her breath and let her eyes leak. Donnel honestly didn't know what to do, he felt his heartbeat thumping within in his chest, he was only thinking of one thing to do. With confidence, Donnel walked close to the blonde princess, who was unaware of his close presence and scooped her into his arms into a warm hug.  
"It's alright." His words came again.  
She held him back and cried into his chest. From that time on, they became really close friends. Lissa began calling him _Donny_ for short, and because they were close. He really missed those times, as sad as they were, he missed being with her. It ached him, and he didn't know why. He didn't know how delusional he was, he didn't know how much he cared for her but he did.

Donnel returned to reality from his flashbacks with the sound of approaching hooves coming from uphill. He squinted his eyes, gazing into the horizon at the herd of men on horses approaching his farm quickly. Donnel quickly ran to the wooden entrance of his farm land, waiting for the men. He didn't recognize them, but he felt like he knew them. Well, one of them. The one leading the herd of horses. The dark figures were now notable, they were Ylissean soldiers on horseback, and leading them was none other than Frederick! Donnel couldn't believe his eyes when they all came to a halt into the land. The cloud of dust they brought with them settled, and revealed a polished set of soldiers on horses. Frederick looked down, and smiled at the former Ylissean mercenary.

"Hello there, Donnel. It's been a while." The blue-armored rider dismounted from his horse and extended a hand toward the shirtless farmer. The farmer strongly clapped his dirty hand on the rider's palm and held it.  
"Frederick! How're ya, buddy?! Long time no see!" The farmer heartily welcomed, showing off his deeper, more matured voice than from when Frederick met him.  
Frederick's arm dragged up and down in the air as Donnel was shaking his hand.  
"My my, Donnel. You've matured a lot, judging by how much strength you take to shake my hand." Frederick pulled away and dusted his hand from the dirt the farmer's hand left behind.  
"Sorry about that, and I guess you could say that!" Donnel smiled proudly as he placed his hands on his hips.

Frederick smiled, then cleared his throat, and placed his hands behind his back as he stood up straight. By the looks of it, Donnel could tell Frederick was about to say something about news that was important or official in some sort.  
"Donnel, if you may not have heard, Ylisse is facing war soon with Vam. As Ylisseans we need to prepare for this war, both it's people and it's soldiers. So I come here, with a message from the exalt, Chrom. He asks if you would be willing to leave your family, and help fight for Ylisse as you have in the past. The exalt will understand if you refuse this offer."  
"'Course I will."

The answer spit out of the farmer's mouth so fast that Frederick took a second or two to fully comprehend what he heard.

"Well, that answer was certainly faster than I thought it would be. I'm very surprised and relieved to hear that, Donnel."  
Donnel nodded, "Mhm, I'd fight for Chrom any day he asks. He helped me before, so I'll help him again. My debt to Chrom will never be payed, I owe him that much for all he did for me."  
Frederick smiled and nodded once.  
"It is settled then. Please be ready by noon time tomorrow with your necessary belongings. Ylissean riders will be here to escort you to the capital palace and the exalt will have word with you before you enlist with the Ylissean Shepards again."

"Got it. See ya, then, Frederick." Donnel grinned cheerfully.

With that Frederick mounted upon his horse and with a whistle, rode off back into the horizon with his fellow riders. Donnel stood there, and couldn't believe what he had just agreed to.

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**To Be Continued.**


End file.
